Family Links
by Haras
Summary: Sirius black lost so much more than he thought he had when he went to Azkaban. But now that he's started to remember, what will he do about it?
1. Chapter 1

A/N, This will be a buffy xover, honest, just bare with me and i'll get there.

I own nothing, nothing at all,

* * *

Sirius couldn't sleep

Sirius couldn't sleep. Ever since he'd escaped Azkaban, he'd had this, niggling, feeling. Like there was something he'd forgotten. However, he'd been far more concerned with catching the traitor, Pettigrew, and exposing his lies, and hadn't thought twice about uncovering his lost memory. Much more anxious to prove his innocence and regain his freedom. But at least now he'd proven himself to Harry, Remus and Dumbledore, he felt relieved that those closest to him, those he considered family now new the truth. The feeling returned, more intense than ever. He knew, _just knew_, there was something wrong. Something he'd forgotten, something important. He could no longer ignore this incessant feeling. He sat late at night, not sleeping, racking his brains trying to think, trying to remember.

A face came into his mind, a very beautiful woman, with long curly blonde hair, and a sweet laugh echoed through his mind. He shook his head. He desperately needed to sleep. He shook his head once more, trying to clear all feeling of the forgotten memory from his mind.

'It'll come to me, given enough time' he thought to himself, after all, he had been in Azkaban for twelve years. That place was enough to completely scramble your head. He lay back down on his uncomfortable makeshift bed, and fell into a fitful sleep.

* * *

Sirius dreamed of the face he had seen. A woman and a small blonde child were happily playing on the floor, laughter emanating from them. He looked on in puzzlement until the woman looked up at him and smiled serenely. Man that smile was beautiful, it warmed his heart unexpectedly. She looked like the happiest person alive.

"Siri, come join us" Her familiar voice was full of warmth and love. His heart swelled with happiness at being included in the happy little scene. He felt himself drawn into the little group, sitting cross-legged on the floor opposite the woman, the golden haired child between them. He stared at her in bewilderment. As she saw him looking at the a strange concerned look appeared upon her face

"Siri? She asked reaching out a hand to touch his arm. He shook his head, hoping desperately that something would come to him. As she touched his arm it felt like fire racing through his veins, and his memory shocked into action.

"Joyce?" He asked.

* * *

Sirius sat bolt upright in his bed, awoken with a shock.

"Joyce?" He asked out loud. Now he remembered. The niggling feeling left abruptly, leaving him only with guilt. Guilt at forgetting them in the first place. How, _How _could he have forgotten his wife and daughter?

Why had no-one mentioned them to his since his escape? Ok yes, he'd only had very limited contact with anyone from the wizarding world since he'd escaped, for obvious reasons. But Remus knew them, and Dumbledore. And he'd looked at the daily prophet almost everyday; surely there would have been some mention of their reaction. And Remus or Dumbledore should have at least mentioned them.

He started to worry. Why? Had something happened to them? Why hadn't he remembered them straight away? So many questions spinning round and round in his head left him gasping for breath.

A thought occurred to him, settling his mind, quieting the turmoil temporarily. He had to speak to Dumbledore. NOW!

In a quiet office, near the centre of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, all was quiet and still, until suddenly, shattering the peace, a tall, thin man suddenly burst out from the fireplace, choking on soot, leaving a cloud behind him as he stumbled into the room. Only one person in the whole school could hear the alarm announcing his presence in the office. Albus Dumbledore rose from his bed, and wearily threw on his robes. He was not alarmed, as the alarm only alerted him to the presence. If it were any one other than a small handful of people, the alarm would be sounding throughout the staff corridor, and chaos would now reign supreme.

He slowly entered his office and sat behind his desk, rubbing sleep from his tired eyes.

"Ahh, Mr Black" He yawned, "To what do I owe the pleasure at this time of the morning?" Sirius looked humbled.

"Sir, I'm truly sorry to wake you, but something very important is troubling me. Very important, and it could not wait until morning." He was apologetic, wringing his hands in his lap. The man was very troubled, Dumbledore noted, curious as to his problem.

"Quite alright, Mr Black, Quite alright. Now, what is it that's troubling you?" Dumbledore's voice was gentle, probing.

"Please, sir, call me Sirius." Dumbledore nodded and waited for him to continue. "Its, it's just that…" He sighed and restarted. "Well, Sir, It started after I escaped from Azkaban, this feeling, like I'd forgotten something big. I didn't really take much notice until recently, but then it just got stronger. And, well, tonight I had such a strange dream. A woman and a child. My Wife and my Daughter. I remembered them tonight, in my dream. I had forgotten them! I need to know why no-one has mentioned them. Has something happened to them? And why didn't I remember them straight away?" Sirius looked confused and upset. He seemed desperate for answers, but Dumbledore could only regret that he had none to give.

"Wife, Sirius? I'm sorry, but I must admit that I don't remember you having been married either." Dumbledore was confused, but the beginnings of a suspicion formed in his mind.

"You don't?" Sirius asked, more troubled than ever. "Joyce, my wife, you don't remember her?

"I'm afraid not" Came the reply "Now this is puzzling, and I can imagine more than a little worrying for you Sirius. The only thing that I can think of is that someone has placed a memory spell on us all for some reason. A spell to make us forget your wife, but why? Why would anyone want us to forget your wife?"

"And daughter" Sirius interrupted.

"Daughter, you say, hmm, yes. Well, let's see. I will do a revealing spell, and then I can find the spell and reverse it." Dumbledore muttered, trying to reason it all out in his head.

"Yes sir,"

Dumbledore stood and lifted his wand, all traces of earlier tiredness now long gone, and waved it round his head.

"Conjuration Revealus" a ball of light floated into the room, appearing from Dumbledore's head. The light was blood red, with a pulsing white light in the centre. It seemed as though the red light was struggling to contain the white, to smother it.

"Ahh, memory suppression and alteration, impressive. Very impressive. It takes a lot of work to change so much of so many people's memories at once. Well then," He carefully touched his wand to the bright red ball and spoke again,

"Incantatem Reverse"

Dumbledore stumbled a little as the spell took hold. The red ball dissolved and there was a blinding flash of white light. Dumbledore fell back into his chair as he was hit with the weight of the memories now assaulting him.

"Merlin, Sirius." He whispered, shocked at the amount of memory that had been stolen from him, he could but imagine how Sirius had felt when the truth was discovered.

"Yes sir,"

"And you broke this spell with your mind?" Dumbledore was almost in awe.

"No, not completely sir. I only know I have a wife and daughter, I have no real memories." He looked at his hands, ashamed he could not remember such an important part of his life.

"So, the spell is still in effect?" Dumbledore was almost excited.

"Yes, yes it is."

"Ah-ha!" Dumbledore clapped his hands together delightedly. "We may be able to find out who cast this spell then!"

"Sir?"

"Well, after the revealing spell, a simple spell can determine the caster, and reveal his face."

"Right" Sirius answered. His face betrayed his uncertainty.

"Are you ready?" Came the question. Sirius only nodded in reply, searching out Dumbledore's eyes.

"Conjuration Revealus" Dumbledore's wand was pointed straight between Sirius' eyes, and he felt distinctly uncomfortable, especially with the pulling feeling that came with the rushing ball of red light leaving his head. Dumbledore tilted his head to one side thoughtfully before speaking again.

"Castora unveilsis" The light started morphing into a new shape. Slowly the face of a man took shape, a man similar in height and build to Sirius, but whom he didn't recognize. However, there was a spark of recognition in Dumbledore's eyes. Before Sirius could say anything, Dumbledore ended the enchantment with a quick 'incantatem reverse' and a swish of his wand. Again came the brilliant white flash, and Sirius had to grab hold of the desk to steady himself.

"Oh God" he moaned. "How could I forget?" He put his head deep into his hands and mumbled to himself. Dumbledore reached a hand out to touch Sirius' wrist, he jerked up in shock, that was what had triggered his memory in his dream!

"Now, Sirius, you were under a very powerful memory spell. The fact that you remembered anything at all is testament to your great love and strong will."

Sirius nodded but still looked unsure. His heart felt broken, he was livid with himself for forgetting them, and now desperate to know what had become of them, where they were, so he could see them again.

"Now, Sirius, What does the name Hank Summers mean to you?" Sirius thought for a second.

"He's my cousin, on my mother's side, why?" What was Dumbledore asking about him for. Sirius hadn't seen him for years, even before Azkaban. Suddenly something seemed to click. "No, No I-it can't be him. Couldn't be him. He doesn't have the power."

"It was Sirius." Dumbledore assured him calmly. "You couldn't tell as he was blocked from your memories, but the image formed, was of him."

"Well, Lets find him then, a locator spell?" Sirius looked hopeful. Although he still couldn't figure out why his cousin would do this to him.

"Sirius, you know as well as I do that a locator spell probably won't work, especially if he has the kind of power needed to block these memories, or if he is living as a muggle. Now, we'll have to use muggle means of locating him, and he may well have changed all their names. Hmmm, this could prove to be difficult. Very difficult indeed." Dumbledore was thoughtful.

"I don't care how difficult it is" Sirius snapped, before looking apologetic once more, "I'm sorry, I just, I want to know. Want to see them." He instantly regretted his harsh words. "I mean, I don't care if we have to check every human in the world to find them, as long as we do."

"I understand Sirius, this is hard for you I know, but you will need to be patient. We probably won't find them straightaway. And it may not be that easy when we do find them, after all, it has been twelve years, a lot could have changed."

"I know. That's the hard part."

"Now, Sirius, would you like me to contact and remove the spell from anyone else? Remus for example? They may help with the search." Sirius thought for a short while.

"No, not just yet, thank you. I think I'd rather keep it to myself for now." He decided

"That's perfectly understandable, this is quite traumatic" Dumbledore nodded in agreement. "Now, I'll start first thing tomorrow. I'll need to start making visits as soon as I can leave Hogwarts. I suppose you shall be making enquiries as well?" Dumbledore looked at him over the top of his half moon spectacles.

"As much as I can sir, yes. And I'll be in touch regularly."

"Of course Sirius, and the best way for me to contact you?"

"Oh, well, I'll be checking in at Grimmauld place from time to time, but the best way to reach me would probably be by owl sir. Although I won't be out of touch for more than a day sir."

"Ok, very well then Sirius. I shall see you soon."

"Yes, and, Headmaster? … Thank you" with those words he silently turned and flooed away into the night once more. Dumbledore sighed, noticing the dejected turn of the younger mans shoulders. How much more would he, or any of them, have to go through, and how long before he could reunite Sirius with his much loved family? He resolved to locate them as quickly as he could, staring first thing in the morning, a time less than two hours away. Yawning, he slowly headed back to bed, where sleep would elude him for the remainder of the night.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I'm sorry this chapter is so incredibly short, it didn't seem to fit with the previous chapter, nor with the next, just a short little, necessary, bit in the middle.

I don't own any of it though, only the plotline.

Please Review.

10 months later.

For both men, it had been a long and arduous ten months. They'd travelled the globe numerous times in their search for the missing blacks. Their hopes had raised several times after following leads they'd thought were sound, only to have hopes dashed and fresh heartbreak.

And now, here was Sirius making yet another visit to the headmaster's office. They had thought they'd been close to finding them before only to be wrong. Sirius was becoming despondent, not wanting to believe they were lost to him, but struggling to believe they'd ever be found. This time was different though. This time, Dumbledore had remarked that he thought he'd actually found them. Reluctant to believe only to endure more heartache, Sirius trudged downcast into Dumbledore's office.

Dumbledore entered his office to find Sirius buried in a leather armchair with his head in his hands. Ever since this had started, ten months earlier, Dumbledore had witnessed the change in Sirius. The already thin man had seemed to shrink into himself, and was now a sorry sight, sitting in that armchair. It dwarfed him. Dumbledore was rather worried actually. He so hoped he was right this time, as he honestly didn't think Sirius could stand any more wrong turns. He crossed the soft warm carpeted floor of his office, and as he passed by Sirius' chair he briefly touched the top of the man's head if a comforting gesture, before sitting opposite him, behind his desk. Sirius looked up at the touch, and Dumbledore noticed yet again how drawn and haggard he'd become. He looked awful. There was en expression of complete despondency permanently written across his features of lat, and Dumbledore now hoped to change that.

"Sirius" Dumbledore spoke softly, a gentle smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

"Albus" Sirius' voice was melancholy. He had long since stopped calling the man sir after much insistence from Dumbledore. He was just beginning to become comfortable with using Albus.

"I think we may actually have found them this time Sirius." Dumbledore's voice was quiet and gentle. A brief glimmer of hope flickered in the younger mans eyes, before grief returned to his features once more.

"We've been here before, Albus" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he spoke again.

"Ah, yes we have Sirius. But, this time, we are travelling based on the words of one Hank Summers." Sirius' head, which had sunk back into his hands jerked up at the words, confusion splashed on his features.

"We found him Sirius!" Dumbledore spoke excitedly, his whole face lit up and animated. Sirius just looked at him in stunned disbelief. After a minute or two he shook his head to clear it and smiled brightly.

"Where?" was the only word he uttered, looking at a point somewhere in the distance behind Dumbledore.

"He's been living in America, Sirius. In Los Angeles."

"America?"

"Yes, I've spoken to him Sirius, and he was most surprised that I remembered him. Your wife and daughter are currently living not far outside Los Angeles, in a small town called Sunnydale."

"Sunnydale?" Sirius whispered to himself. "Sunnydale." His eyes refocused on the headmaster,

"We've found them, we've finally found them!"

"Yes indeed we have Sirius. We can go to them tomorrow night!"

Sirius lost himself; he buried his head into his hands once more, and let the feelings of relief and joy wash over him. Although he was apprehensive about how they'd react to him turning up out of the blue, and how they'd deal with his conviction and the truth, they'd found them! Finally after such a long time searching he would see his family once more. Sirius lost his battle to keep control over his emotions, and dropped his head to his hands once more to let tears of pure joy stream down his face.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Hi, to answer some of the questions i've had in reviews, this is between seasons 2 and 3 of Buffy. Buffy has run away and is still in LA, missing.

Hope you like it, please review.

* * *

Joyce summers went full of anticipation to open the front door, 'Buffy?' was the question in the front of her mind as she reached it. She tried hard not to get her hopes up that Buffy had returned after leaving abruptly five weeks earlier after a rather heated argument. Not a day went by that she didn't regret uttering those words to her daughter.

"If you walk out of this house don't even think about coming back" those words echoed in her memory every single day that Buffy was away. She jerked the door open, hoping against hope that Buffy would be stood there. Instead two strange men were stood on her doorstep, looking most out of place, wearing strange outfits, almost like dresses, but not quite.

"Joyce?" the younger of the two men had a strange expression on his face, she couldn't quite read it, but, was that… joy? Strange. She didn't recognize either man, and just stood for a few seconds staring. One man was obviously quite old, as his long hair and beard were very white, but his eyes, his eyes were deep, and seemed like they could see right inside her soul. She shivered slightly with the intensity of his gave. Her eyes slid over to the other man, the one who ha spoken. He was much younger, and terribly terribly thin. His face was gaunt and his long black hair hung limply at the sides of his face. She felt instant compassion for the man, who seemed to recognize her, although she herself couldn't recognize the man from Adam. She shook her head, aware that she was being rude in staring.

"I'm sorry; I think you have the wrong house." She had learnt now about the darker nature of Sunnydale and although it was bright daylight she certainly wasn't going to take any chances in letting two strangers into her house.

"No, I think we have exactly the right house Joyce" The older man said gently with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes. Joyce became uncomfortable suddenly and backed away, one hand on the door ready to close it.

"Y-you can't come in here" she said, her voice trembling. The younger man looked completely crushed by her statement. He seemed to fold in on himself as his expression change completely and he looked to his friend in anguish. Joyce was confused by the man's sorrow.

'God, I wish Buffy were here' she thought to herself, not for the first time, not even the first time that day. She tried to push the door shut, but the older man stepped through it just before she could.

"Joyce, we aren't here to hurt you. Quite the opposite in fact. We want to help." Joyce wondered momentarily what they knew about her, what they thought she needed help with. Her mind was racing.

"Help how? With what?" she asked uncertainly "and who are you?" she looked back and forth from one man to the other.

"You don't remember us, but we are old friends of yours Joyce. I am Albus Dumbledore, and this is…" He paused allowing Sirius to pick up.

"I'm Sirius," he jumped in, "Sirius Black" A chord of recognition resonated through her as she repeated the name under her breath, trying to recall why the name was familiar, before shaking her head slightly.

"wh-" she started, confusion evident upon her features. Sirius thought to himself how beautiful she was, how kind time had been to her pretty face.

"Now Joyce, I think it would be wise if we were to get fully inside. We don't know what, or who is around." Joyce just stared dumbly at the two men.

"Are your husband or Daughter around?" Sirius asked, earning him a slightly reproving look from Dumbledore.

"ehm, I'm divorced." She told him, not sure quite why she was telling him, but then left herself wondering even more with her next statement. "and I haven't seen my daughter for five weeks."

"You haven't… Why?" Sirius asked a mix of worry and confusion evident on his face. Joyce wondered why he looked so worried when she didn't even know him. And to her knowledge Buffy didn't either, but as she'd recently found out, there was a lot that she didn't know about Buffy.

"She, eh, that is, we had a fight, and she kind of left. And hasn't been back since." Joyce told them, tears filling her eyes, which dropped to the floor.

"Oh Emi" Sirius looked at her with a sad look on his face. He was longing to just hold her and tell her everything would be alright. But something told him that the gesture wouldn't be exactly welcomed.

"Sirius" Dumbledore warned, "Not yet." Sirius looked away from both of them, into the house. Joyce wondered why he had looked at her like that when she hardly even knew him. Then a thought occurred to her.

"Emi, did you just call me Emi?" Dumbledore sighed as Sirius looked back towards her.

"Yes, he did." Dumbledore put a warm hand on the confused woman's shoulder, throwing a disapproving glare at Sirius, who had the grace to look a little sheepish. "He shouldn't have, yet, but he did."

"Yet?" asked Joyce, the curiosity inside her boiling to fever pitch.

"Could we go inside please Joyce?" He asked calmly. Joyce jumped a little, and shook her head, remembering they were still standing on the doorstep.

"Er, yes, perhaps we'd better" She was careful not to issue a proper invitation though, despite the daylight, just in case. She stepped back and allowed both men to cross the threshold, then carefully closed the door behind them. She showed them into the den and gestured for them to sit down. Joyce herself remained standing. When they were comfortably settled she looked at them expectantly..

"Of course, I expect you'll be wanting an explanation of exactly who we are and why we seem to know you." Joyce only nodded.

"Well, nothing we can tell you yet would be satisfactory to you, so I guess I'll just have to show you." Dumbledore said calmly, the unasked request for permission in his eyes, and stood up again. Joyce looked from him to Sirius, who had tears in his eyes, and back to Dumbledore, before finally nodding her acceptance.

Dumbledore withdrew a long dark wooden stick from his sleeve. He pointed it at her head and she flinched. Just what had she given her acceptance to?

"Don't worry," he laughed gently "I'm not going to hurt you." With that said, Joyce relaxed slightly, and nodded again. Dumbledore pointed the stick at her again and muttered a few words.

"Conjuration Revealus" Joyce gasped at the sensations as the balls of light shot forth from her head. Dumbledore dismissed them with a slight nod, and then waved his wand again with another two words.

"Finite Incantatem"

Joyce could say nothing as her memories returned to her, such a rush of emotions washed over her. She looked around at the occupants of her living room, no longer strangers to her, and collapsed in a heap upon the floor.

"Well," Dumbledore said to Sirius, not the least disturbed by the figure on the floor. "I do believe we've found your wife Sirius. Now all that remains is to find your daughter."

Sirius knelt down beside that fallen woman and pulled her head into his lap. He brushed the hair from her face and stroked her cheek as a tear dropped from his eye. He wiped it from her face where it had fallen, and beamed up at the older man.

"Thank you, Albus" he spoke with true feeling. "Thank you."

"You are quite welcome. Now, shall I?" he gestured towards the unconscious woman with his wand.

"What? … Oh, yes, please, go ahead." Dumbledore once more waved his wand at Joyce,

"Enervate" Her eyes fluttered slightly as she slowly regained consciousness. She opened her eyes fully and looked up at the face of the man above her, wild eyes searching for answers. She shook slightly as the memory of what had just happened returned to her.

"What _was_ that?" she asked shakily, "Did anybody get the number of that bus?" Dumbledore answered her question.

"I just removed a tremendously powerful memory spell from you Mrs Black." His voice was quiet.

"Memory spell?" she whispered, confused, "who…?" the question died on her lips as she tried to puzzle it out.

"Hank." Sirius all but spat, still furious with the man for hiding his family from them.

"But… why would he…?" She broke off as she remembered the past few years, and everything that had happened since she last had her memories.

"What is the last thing you remember before being in America, Joyce?" Dumbledore asked her kindly. He had knelt next to her since she awoke.

"I remember…" She thought for a few seconds, struggling to regain the newly returned memories. "Hank, he had come to give me the news that," she gasped as her hand flew to her mouth as she remembered the whole story, "the news that Sirius had been taken to Azkaban, for betraying Lily and James, and killing Peter and all those muggles." Tears formed in her eyes as she looked up at Sirius who now had matching tears at his eyes. "Then, after he told me, it all goes blank. The next thing I remember is being in Los Angeles and thinking I was Joyce Summers, Hanks wife." The tears fell freely from her eyes now as she manoeuvred into a sitting position and turned to face Sirius.

"You, you killed Peter? Lily James? Sirius. What did you do? Why?" She needed to know what had happened. They had all been the closest of friends, right up until the day Hank had told her, and she remembered the shock like it was fresh. Which, in a manner of speaking she supposed it was, after all, she had been robbed of all memories directly after the news, and had only just regained them, so yes, shock.

Sirius vehemently shook his head at her words.

"No. No I didn't. I didn't do any of it. Nothing you were told. Peter is still alive Em. It was all him. He was their secret keeper. We switched at the last minute. I told them too. I thought that I was the obvious choice, but that no one would suspect Peter for being the secret keeper. After they were gone, I went after him, I knew it had to be him, you see. He faked his death to frame me. I swear I didn't do anything Emi, James was like a brother to me. They were my, our, best friends." Now Sirius was crying too. Joyce leaned forward and enveloped him in a tight embrace.

"I knew it" she whispered into his shoulder, a smile playing at her lips. "It's so good to hear that name again" she told him, remembering. Sirius had always called her Emi, ever since he'd discovered her middle name, Emalyn.

The nickname he'd given her had always made her feel giggly, like a girl again, though that had been a long time ago.

There was a faint knock at the door, but the two people on the floor were far too engrossed in each other to be aware of it. The knock came again a few second later. Dumbledore coughed slightly to try and alert them, to no avail. As the knocking became more insistent, Dumbledore sighed and moved towards the door.

"Joyce?" The voice sounded urgent and worried, as Dumbledore pulled the door open to come face to face with a very worried looking Rupert Giles. Almost instantly his expression changed from abject fear, into complete shock.

"Professor?" Giles whispered reverentially. Dumbledore looked him over thoughtfully.

"Rupert Giles. What a strange coincidence. It has been a long time has it not Rupert?"

"Joyce? Is she alright?" His first question was borne out of concern for his young charges mother.

"Oh, yes, Joyce is quite alright Rupert. Quite all right indeed" He replied, chuckling.

"What – I mean, if you'll forgive me, but what are you doing here? I didn't expect to see you, well, ever, after I was expelled?"

"Oh, Rupert, It seems that your friend has more to her story than meets the eye you know. She too is a witch. A fine one at that. Only, she has only just had some very important memories returned to her and they have left her a little fragile."

"A witch? But she never said…" Giles was confused; surely she would have mentioned it, at least after the whole drama with Buffy.

"Why don't you come in and see for yourself Mr Giles." Dumbledore stood back to allow Giles entry. He stepped inside cautiously, and walked towards the faint sound he could hear in the den.

As he entered he saw Joyce knelt on the floor with her arms around a black haired man. He looked closer at the mans face, then he recognised him.

"Sirius Black!" He exclaimed. "You – You're Sirius Black, get away from her." He demanded. Giles, although he had been expelled from Hogwarts and the wizarding world before Joyce and Sirius and the marauders arrived, had still kept up to date with the news from that world. He had read the daily prophet religiously, especially the story of the Potters Betrayal by one Sirius Black.

The figures on the floor looked up, startled by his voice.

"Giles?" Joyce asked, shocked that he knew her husband.

"You know who I am?" Sirius asked in disbelief.

"Mr Giles here went to Hogwarts," Dumbledore interjected. "Do not worry Mr Giles, Mr Black, Sirius, is innocent of all charges."

"No, I would have heard, it would have been on the front page."

"It is not common knowledge" Dumbledore stated firmly. "Not many people know of Sirius' innocence, or the guilt of Mr Pettigrew. But it is a fact. The other fact you will need to know is that Sirius is Joyce's husband. Those are the memories recently returned."

Giles was floored. Completely stunned by the news. He let it sink in, then decided that the news he had brought her was more important at the moment. He could ask his other questions later. Much later.

"I – I came with some news Joyce." He spoke quietly. The other three occupants of the room looked a little confused at the drastic subject change.

"What news? What do you have to tell me Rupert?" Joyce asked, her brain trying to switch gears to follow the conversation.

"I think I've found her." He said calmly. "I think I know where Buffy is"

Joyce burst into tears.


	4. Chapter 4

With the news Giles had given them, the foursome travelled directly to LA in search of the missing girl. Sirius didn't know why she'd left, what the fight with her mother had been about, and he had told Joyce he didn't want to know. All he was interested in at the moment was finding her safe. Upon reaching LA, the foursome split, believing they would be able to cover more ground that way. They had now been searching for two days, and Sirius and Joyce were desperate to find her.

Sirius was tired. He had barely slept since he had been reunited with Joyce, so many emotions roiling around in his head. Joy and relief at finding her, and anxiety and worry over the whereabouts of his missing daughter. He hadn't seen her since she was eighteen months old; she wouldn't have any memories of him even without the spell. And after such a huge fight with her mother, how would she feel about a new father?

Sirius entered a diner as his stomach reminded him for the hundredth time that he hadn't eaten for six hours. He sat in the back booth, closest to the counter. He looked up at the counter, trying to get the attention of a waitress, and froze.

It was her!

Ok, so she didn't look exactly the same as the photograph Joyce had given him, but he recognised her none the less. His Daughter. Her hair was longer now, and not the same blonde of the photograph. Instead, it was now a deep auburn, in fact it reminded him of Lily's somewhat, only darker She turned slightly, affording him the first full view of her face. Her eyes held a fire which startled him, the photograph in his hand had not captured that. She turned slightly, and started to carry two plates to one of the many tables, heading right past him. Her fiery eyes drifted lazily across the diner as she walked, looking, perhaps, for new customers. As her eyes fell upon him, she froze mid-step. The plates in her hand slipped from her grip and smashed noisily to the floor, scattering lukewarm food at her feet.

Sirius was out of his seat the second he saw the plates slip, and as they hit the floor he stood in front of her. He took hold of both her arms as he registered the shock upon her face, and even as an overweight red-faced man strode angrily towards them shouting about the mess and how it would come out of her wages, Sirius dragged her from the diner, all thoughts of hunger leaving instantly.

Once outside he dragged her round a corner and into a quiet alley. Her shock must have been deep, he thought, as she didn't even try and resist him. His aim was somewhere they could have a quiet conversation alone.

Buffy recovered slightly from her shock, and pulled her arms forcibly from his grip.

"Y-You!" She proclaimed. Now it was Sirius' turn to be shocked. She knew him? Recognised him? From what Joyce had said, there had been no mention of him in their – what did she call it? – Media, strange things, muggles. Yet she knew his face? How?

"It – It's You" she reiterated. "Who _are_ you?" she asked, revealing that she didn't exactly know him.

Sirius released a relieved sigh, at least she didn't hate him. That was a start. She didn't think he was a murderer.

"My name is Sirius, Buffy." He heard her gasp of shock, fear, "We've been looking for you." Her expression showed her fear for an instant, before it hardened into one of defiance.

"Looking for me, huh? Who's we?" She asked, wondering whether she would need to fight her way out of this. And how did this man know her real name?

Sirius took another step towards her, not noticing her subtle shift into a fighting stance.

"We are, me, my friend Albus, Rupert, – and your Mother." Something indistinguishable passed over her face, but was replaced with a coldness that chilled Sirius' soul before he could determine the original emotion.

"You must be mistaken Sir. My mother told me to never come back. She doesn't want to see me ever again." Her face was hard, and betrayed no emotion.

"But she does, Buffy, She really does…"

"No" Buffy cut him off before he could continue. "I assure you she doesn't. She told me so herself. She told me never to come back. So I won't burden her anymore." She was curt in her words, her anger at her mother evident in her tone.

"Buffy, she didn't mean it. She was angry. She misses you terribly. She's been waiting for you to come back. Come with me, see her yourself." Sirius still had no idea what had happened between his wife and daughter, but he could see behind the anger it had hurt Buffy immensely. He hadn't questioned Joyce, had been to preoccupied in finding their daughter. And now he had, all he had to do was reunite them as a family. He reached out for Buffy's arm again.

Seeing his hand reach to her, Buffy stepped back abruptly.

"I'm not going back. Not to Sunnydale. No" She was angry now, and cornered. Her step had taken her up against the alley wall, and Sirius had closed the distance.

"You don't have to." Sirius voice was quiet. He had seen the change in her, could see that she was terrified of going back to Sunnydale, and ready to fight if she had to. He softened.

"She's here, Buffy, in LA. You don't need to go back to Sunnydale. Please, come with me. Come and see her, talk to her, and then decide what you want to do. Please."

Buffy looked away. Her emotions were reeling out of control now. She knew that she had landed a huge bombshell on her mother and simply left, but her mothers words had cut to her soul, and left her devastated. And then Angel. What she had had to do. It was all too much. Then there was this man. This man whose face she had seen in her dreams ever since she had left Sunnydale. She had no idea who he was, but he knew her. Why? Her mind raced, and she reached her decision. She looked back into his eyes, a single tear traced down her cheek. She nodded.

"Take me." She said simply. "I'll talk to her."

Sirius sighed with relief.

"Come with me. I know where she'll be." Sirius took her arm, and led her out of the alley.

They walked back to the hotel where Sirius, Joyce, and Rupert had been staying, Dumbledore having had to return to Hogwarts. Once safely tucked into their suite, Sirius picked up the phone. Joyce was still out scouring the streets of LA looking for the young girl who was now sitting looking lost in the armchair by the window. He dialled her cell phone.

"Emi, it's me. Come back. Now." He was sparing with his words, realizing that she'd know instantly what he meant. Sure enough he heard the audible gasp on the other end, before the phone went dead.

Buffy looked at him questioningly.

"She's on her way" was all he said. Buffy nodded and returned to staring pensively out the window of the hotel. Sirius sank on to the bed, wondering now, how she would take the huge parcel of information she was about to be landed with. He didn't know quite what they'd say to her, or even how. But he did know that they'd get through it. They would become a family again. Then all they had to do was to decide what to do next.

It took only ten minutes for Joyce to reach the hotel, and inside the suite they could hear her pounding steps in the corridor before the door was pulled open.

Joyce stood in the doorway, looking directly at her daughter. She hadn't known whether to believe it or not when Sirius called her, but now here she was standing in front of her rather different looking daughter.

"Buffy".

Buffy rose from the chair and stood to face her mother, pain written in her eyes.

"Hi, Mom"

"Oh Buffy," Joyce took a few steps forward and looked as if she was about to pull Buffy into her arms. Buffy shook her head.

"No Mom. Don't" Joyce looked defeated. Sirius stood and looked between mother and daughter.

"I think you two need to talk. Alone." He addressed both of them. "I'll be outside if you need me." Sirius took in the grateful looks thrown to him by both women, nodded and quietly stepped outside. Buffy needed to fix her relationship with her mother before she would be able to accept the news that he was her father. He sighed, and leant against the wall of the Hotels corridor, before sliding down it and resting his head on his knees. He couldn't believe it. All this time searching and now his family were almost together again, just on the other side of the wall. He waited, and prepared himself for what was to come.

Inside the hotel room, however, the temperature seemed to have dropped.

"Buffy, I. I'm sorry." Joyce knew she had said the wrong thing to Buffy when she left, she had been confused and angry about the slaying. She knew she was wrong, and had spoken rashly.

"I hadn't had time to understand. Please believe me Buffy. I know I was wrong to say what I said, but I was so confused and scared." Buffy looked up at her mother,

"Mom, I know. But I was scared too. I had to go. I." She sighed. "There was something I had to do. And you told me not to come back. So I didn't"

"Oh, Buffy, I didn't mean that. I just needed some time to take it in. You just piled this information on me, and left, I didn't know what to do with it. I didn't really understand what it meant. But now I've talked to Rupert, Mr Giles, and he's explained it. And I'm still scared Buffy, scared to death for you. I know what this means now, and since you left, I've been imagining all kinds of things happening to you. And I wouldn't have know. I'm sorry Buffy, I am. I just…" She sighed and looked at the floor. She didn't know what else to say to her.

She looked up as she felt Buffy throw herself into her arms. They sank to the floor, as Buffy held her mother, and cried her pain out. Pain over everything that had happened for the last few months, for Angel, her friends, Giles, and her mother.

After a while of sitting on the floor together, Buffy seemed to have cried herself out. She looked at her mother and had one question.

"Who's the man that found me?"


	5. Chapter 5

"That man?" Joyce wasn't sure quite how to start. She wasn't sure exactly how her daughter would take this information after all she had already been through. The only positive that Joyce could see was that the man Buffy thought of as her father had already abandoned her, so just maybe, she would be willing to accept Sirius. She knew Buffy would have very few, if any, memories of Sirius to reveal, being so young when it happened, oh god, that's something else that she'd have to be told.

"Buffy, I'll call him back in; he needs to be here when you hear this." Buffy nodded her agreement, even more curious about this man who seemed to know her, and whose face she'd dreamt of repeatedly.

"Sirius?" Joyce opened the door to see Sirius leaning on the wall of the corridor, his head on his knees. He had been waiting for what had seemed to him like years. "Come back inside now, its time." Sirius lifted his head to look at her, he was apprehensive now. They were in uncharted territory. He had known how Joyce would react to this news, after all, he could reveal her memories, and he'd grown up with her. He knew how she'd take the information, but Buffy was an unknown quantity. He'd had such a short time with her before everything had happened, and she'd known another Father for most of her life. Joyce had told him that Hank hadn't seen Buffy for a long time, that he'd left them, Sirius could only wonder why, after going to all that trouble, the man had just left. He pulled himself up from the floor, and warily walked into the hotel room.

Once inside, he could see Buffy's small form sitting on the bed, her tear-stained face looking up at him curiously. He looked to Joyce, who seemed to be encouraging him to tell the story. He took a deep breath and started, sitting in a chair opposite them both as he did so. Joyce sat next to Buffy and put one arm around her back. Buffy tensed at the contact initially then sighed and relaxed into it.

"Buffy, there are some things you need to know about me." He started.

Buffy just nodded, encouraging him to continue, she wanted to know this man who had apparently just walked into her mothers life in her absence. He took in a deep breath and started.

"My name is Sirius Black, and I'm not what you'd call normal" were his first words, Buffy's mouth turned up in a wry smile, but she said nothing, and he missed it. "I'm a wizard Buffy" he followed, and then paused expecting the shock he assumed would come with this revelation, when there was no change registered on Buffy's face, he shook his own surprise off and continued.

"Long ago, I went to a school in England, a wizarding school, called Hogwarts. It was there that I met the best friends I have ever had. School was wonderful, I had a fantastic circle of friends who I'd die for, and an amazing girlfriend, but everything was not right in my world. There was a wizard, an evil wizard, who believed that only pure-blooded witches and wizards should exist. He believed they were superior, and he started to kill muggles and muggleborns."

"Mug-what now?" Buffy cut him off, confusion shadowing her features.

"Muggles, and muggleborns Buffy. It's what we call non-magical people, and witches and wizards that came from non-magical parents." She nodded, and her silence seemed to encourage him to continue.

"There was a small group of us, who decided to stand against him. To fight for our world and our way of life, for the innocent lives he shed. In the midst of all the fighting, however, I was married to my best friend, and the most amazing woman in the world. She lit the room, and lifted everyone when we were at our lowest. She's the reason I kept fighting, for a better place for her, and, and the perfect daughter we had created." He broke off then, falling silent, lost in the memories. Buffy stayed quiet but her mind was whirring. Did this man need her help with his family? Why else was his family story so important to her? She looked from his face to her mothers, expecting her to be patiently waiting for Sirius to continue, only to see the same wistful look on her mothers face as she shared the memories. Her mind raced as she started to put two and two together. The adults broke out of their memories, and shared a look that was filled with such emotion that the pieces finally slotted into some kind of place in Buffy's mind.

"You know each other from then?" Buffy was still unsure of exactly how the pieces fit, but she knew that this man was not a new fixture in her mothers life. Joyce nodded, allowing Sirius to voice it.

"Yes Buffy, Your mother went to Hogwarts with me, it was where we met," he paused allowing that information to sink in, but before Buffy could jump in with a question for her mother, he added "and it's where we married." That floored her. Buffy's brain couldn't keep up with her thoughts as they flew through at such a pace. It still didn't make sense to her.

"You – and my mom?" She asked, not waiting for an answer. "Mom, you never told me you had been married before…" She broke off, as something Sirius had said occurred to her. "Wait, you said you had a daughter, I have a sister??"

Joyce's arm tightened around Buffy, bracing herself for the next bombshell, and its consequence. She looked to Sirius, as Buffy continued to shoot from her mom to him.

"No, Buffy, you don't have a sister. The reason you mother never told you about me is because she didn't remember. Her memories of me and our life together had been erased. As well as everyone else's, including my daughters. You, Buffy. You are my daughter."

Buffy's eyes locked onto him, as he finished speaking. She laughed once, a short, bitter bark of a laugh.

"What, did you just expect me to believe that?" She asked as she pulled herself up to stand above him. "Did you really think that you could just say something that huge to me, and expect me to accept it as read? I don't think so." She looked to her mother, who was looking back at her with worried eyes. "Mom?" Buffy questioned, waiting for her to deny it, to tell her the truth.

"He's telling you the truth honey." She answered, "Hank is not your father, Sirius is, I didn't know Buffy, I only just remembered." She looked at her daughter, anguish written over every inch of her face and body, Buffy was not taking it as well as she'd hoped.

"Oh, so you conveniently 'forgot' that you'd been married to him" she pointed over at Sirius, "and that he was my father. You just thought whoops, I'm married to this man, Hank now, and so he must be my child's father?" Her tone was deadly.

"No, Buffy. That's not how it was at all." Sirius reached out and held one of her arms. Buffy wrenched it away from his grasp and turned to face him.

"So why don't you tell me 'how it was' if you're such an expert then? Huh?" she spat the words at him, crossing her arms over her body, unconsciously forming a barrier from all the feelings she was experiencing. Sirius sighed, and sat back down, motioning for Buffy to do the same. She did so reluctantly, sitting on the edge of the bed, far away from her mother.

"After you were born, Buffy, two of my best friends, James and Lily received news that Voldemort, the wizard we were fighting against, wanted to kill them, and their son, Harry. They decided to go into hiding, using a spell for a secret keeper. This spell allows you to be so hidden, that no-one can know where you are, unless a secret keeper – the person who holds the spell, tells them. They wanted me to be their secret keeper, as I was their best friend, but I refused. I was the most obvious choice you see, if anyone wanted to find them, it would be me they'd come after. I told them to choose another of our friends, Peter, as he'd be the last person anyone would suspect." He sighed.

"Not long later, after they'd been in hiding for a few months, we heard some dreadful news. Lily and James had been killed. Voldemort had found them, and killed them both. The only ray of hope to come from it was that Harry had lived. Voldemort had tried to kill him, but the curse had rebounded somehow, killing him instead. However, I was the most obvious choice for the secret keeper, so everyone believed that I was the one who had betrayed them, I was taken to Azkaban, the wizarding prison, and kept there for twelve years. I finally escaped a year ago, and found Harry. He believed my story, and my innocence, but very few others do. A few months after I'd escaped Azkaban, I started to have strange dreams of a woman and child, and I felt as though there was something missing, something I'd forgotten. Well, after months of these dreams, I pulled myself out of one, and I remembered, I remembered my wife, and my daughter. You Buffy. I've been looking for you both ever since." Both he and Joyce had tears in their eyes at the memories that had just been refreshed.

"That doesn't explain why we didn't know" Buffy spoke quietly.

"It was my cousin" Sirius spoke again, his quiet tone matching Buffy's " Hank, he had always adored your mother, and you when you came along. Then, when I was gone, he saw his chance. He surprised your mother, and altered her memories with a powerful spell. He took her, and you away to America, and he lived with you here since you were almost one." He reached over and touched her hand. "Buffy, if you want, I could reveal any of your memories that he may have hidden." She looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, before nodding slowly. He withdrew his wand, and once more performed the revealing spell.

Fresh memories assaulted Buffy's mind, staggering her with their weight. Her eyes clamped shut as she let them settle and processed them. When they flew open again, a single tear trailed down her cheek,

"Daddy?"


End file.
